Somebody To Lean On
by thewibblywobblywolf
Summary: Blow a kiss, fire a gun, all we need is somebody to lean on. Something which holds true for them. Mafia!AU AceSabo


"Luffy, come on, it's getting dark," Ace said, grabbing the younger's hand. He cast a look up and down the street, checking for any kind of danger in the darkening city.

"But Aceeee~" Luffy whined, none the less following his big brother as he proceeded to drag him off towards their ratty old apartment.

"Ace is right, Lu, we shouldn't be out after dark," Sabo said, taking Luffy's other hand. Luffy pouted but didn't argue, and minutes later he was back in his usual good mood, swinging his brothers' joined hands back and forth.

Ace smiled down at his little brother, pushing a few wayward hair strands from his forehead as the younger blinked sleepily at him.

"Nighty night, Ace. Nighty night, Sabo," he yawned, curling into a tight ball the way he always did when he fell asleep, despite managing to wake up sprawled out over the bed and taking up all the space in the morning.

"'Night, Lu," Ace said, tucking the sheets tighter around him.

"Goodnight, Luffy," Sabo called from the couch, looking up from his book to flash their brother a smile.

Ace pressed a kiss to the younger's forehead before straightening while Luffy's eyelids slid shut. It wasn't until his breathing had evened and he'd started mumbling about meat that Sabo spoke up again.

"You're going out again, aren't you?" he asked, voice almost accusatory but eyes sad.

"Yes," Ace answered bluntly, "You know that I have to."

"I know, but I worry," Sabo held his gaze, letting the worry and exhaustion that always was there bubble to the surface and shine through his eyes. Ace softened immediately. He toed off his boots and threw himself onto the old couch beside his first friend. Sabo looked at him, startled but pleased.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I don't have to be there quite yet," he said simply. Sabo closed his book and smiled, putting it away and leaning to rest against Ace's shoulder.

"Good."

Sabo nuzzled Ace's neck, pressing a kiss against his tanned skin. Ace hummed, pulling the other closer.

"We really do worry, you know," Sabo murmured, not meeting the other youth's eyes, already knowing the sad disbelief that he would find there too well.

"I know," he murmured back all the same, tracing patterns into the naked skin of Sabo's back.

Sabo pressed his lips against Ace's. Because he wanted to, and because he could.

"I've gotta go," Ace said against his cheek, gently disentangling their limbs. Sabo sighed deeply, watching him pull on his shirt again, watching him tie his boots and grab his hat from its hook.

"You come back home to us," Sabo commanded.

"Yes, sir," Ace said, giving him a mock salute and stepping out the door. He closed it softly behind him, as to not wake Luffy, and Sabo got up to lock the three locks before retreating to the couch, picking up his book again. He probably wouldn't get any sleep that night.

It always surprised Ace how easy it had become to pull the trigger over the years. The first time Marco had showed him how to use a gun his hands had been shaking and Marco had to make him take a break in between every other shot, but now his hand was steady as he aimed, as he fired. He prefered to use his fists, but that didn't mean that guns weren't useful now and then. And it wasn't like he minded having the knowledge, it was useful, and he'd always be thankful to Pops for taking him in and giving him a way to provide for himself and his brothers.

He hissed when a bullet struck his left arm and retreated behind a line of bins. He put the saftey back on his gun and examined his arm. Only a flesh wound, good. Marco would probably be mad at him for getting shot - and so would Sabo for that matter - but he'd be fine. He ripped a part of his shirt off and tied it around his arm before he made his way back out of the alley again.

The first time Ace was attacked in broad daylight he was terrified. Not because he was scared of the thugs from the Kaido Gang, or because he was scared of the police, but because Sabo was there with him. He wanted to keep him safe, him and Luffy both, but this was the opposite of that. But Sabo wasn't scared. He stood strong and gave as good as he got, proving quite how much of the skills he'd picked up on the street as a kid he'd retained.

But when one of the four gangmembers pulled a knife on the blond Ace panicked. He drew his gun and pulled the trigger, downing the one who'd tried to kill _his brother_ , _his Sabo_.

And by the time three of the thugs laid unmoving on the ground and the fourth had scampered Sabo still didn't look scared. He just took Ace's hand and guided him home, making sure to backtrack and leave a faulty trail, just in case.

When they were ten they had sworn to be brothers just in case they ever got separated, and at eighteen Sabo was ever thankful that they never had been, but sometimes he couldn't help but wonder about the future, about if they'd be able to stick together forever.

"Luffy, no! You need to wait to eat, we're going to put the potatoes in the stew, you can't just eat them raw, stupid!"

"But I'm hungry~" Luffy whined, pulling his best puppy dog eyes at Ace. The battle was pretty much lost.

"Just- Just have some jerky while you wait!" Ace exclaimed, succumbing to Luffy's greatest weapon, thrusting the bag of snacks at their little brother.

But then one of them would do something to snap him back to the moment, and he'd laugh and forget his worries, because it was okay if they weren't always together, as long as he got to keep them in the moment.

Sabo liked the sea, he always had. There was just something eternal about it; no matter what happened to the earth, to the people, the sea would always stay the same. But at the same time it was ever changing, never staying still and never in the same place, except always in the same place. Once when he was younger he had contemplated what it must be like living on the sea, how free one must feel, but now he didn't have time for that kind of day dream anymore. Now he had his life to worry about, as well as Luffy's and Ace's. But it was still calming, sitting on the pier and just watching the waves.

"Hey." Sabo looked up, startled, coming face to face with Ace, standing strong and tall by his side.

"Luffy said I'd find you down here," he said, plopping down on the bench Sabo favoured.

"Has he done his homework yet?" Sabo asked.

"Nah, but Robin has promised to help him with it, so it'll probably get done at some point," Ace said, cracking a grin. Sabo laughed with him.

"Sabo?"

Sabo's head snapped up from his book, eyes at the door leading into the bedroom he usually shared with his brothers. In the doorway stood Luffy, yawning and trying to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"Where's Ace?" Luffy asked. Sabo winced, neither he nor Ace wanted their little brother to know what Ace got up to at night to ensure that they had clothes on their backs and a roof over their heads, always making sure that the boy had gone to bed before Ace left.

"He's out," Sabo answered, hoping desperately that Luffy wouldn't push the issue.

"Out where?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Just out."

Luffy frowned and Sabo cursed inwardly. While his brother could give an impression of being a bit behind at times he could be unnaturally perceptive when he wanted to, especially when it came to his family.

"Why are you up?" Sabo asked at last after a few moments of tense silence.

"I woke up but you guys weren't there." Of course that would prompt him to get out of bed. Over the years the three had gotten used to sleeping together, and though Luffy usually fell asleep on his own nowadays his older brothers were usually there when he woke up.

"When's Ace coming home?" Luffy asked, walking further into the tiny living area, dragging the blankets that usually were in the bed with him.

"I don't know, Lu," Sabo said, throwing an arm around his little brother when he sat down on the couch, scooting closer.

"We'll wait for him," Luffy decided, throwing the blanket over them both.

"Yeah, we will," Sabo said, carding a hand through the younger's short hair.

The next morning Sabo woke to the sound of the door closing and the locks sliding back into place. Opening his eyes Sabo found Ace in the hallway, hat on his head and grin on his face, but with a bandage on his arm, dotted with red where it obviously had bled through.

His eyes widened and he rushed to untangle himself from their little brother, thanking his lucky stars that the younger was a heavy sleeper, before he rushed to his feet and over to Ace.

"You're hurt!" he made as if to grab the arm, but stopped himself. He didn't want to hurt the other further with any sudden movements.

Ace grinned, "Thanks, Captain Obvious."

"What are you so happy about? You're not the one who's stuck dealing with a wounded brother," Sabo said, glaring.

"Can't a guy be happy about being home?" Ace responded.

"Not when you're hurt, you're not," Sabo said, gently prodding around the bandage. Ace didn't as much as flinch.

"To be honest I'm probably still hopped up on adrenaline, and Marco gave me some really good painkillers before he sent me home, so it doesn't hurt in the slightest," the silly grin didn't leave his face once.

Sabo sighed, muttering about stupid brothers. Ace just grinned and gave him a kiss.

 **AN: AceSabo? AceSabo. I'm getting sick, so I'm gonna blame that for me not answering people properly in the coming week or so (when I get sick I get** _ **sick**_ **), but I finished this before it got too bad, so I thought I'd post it as an apology for all the angst and heartbreak I've been posting recently xD**

 **Edit: I've been informed that using song lyrics is prohibited, and so I've removed them. Now It's just heavily inspired by the lyrics of "Lean On" by Major Lazer.**

 **Thank you very much to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, and even just read so far, I truly appreciate it!**


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